Toddler malnourished, infested with lice before death

A little girl was so malnourished her nappies and blankets left pressure sores on her body, a judge has been told.

Shannon Leigh White, 47, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after her stepdaughter Willow Dunn, 4, was found dead at a Cannon Hill home, in Brisbane’s east, in 2020.

Pathologists said Willow suffered from chronic malnutrition, pancreatitis and pressure sores on her lower body.Credit: Facebook

When White took on the role as Willow’s stepmother, she called it a “sign from heaven”, Justice Peter Davis was told during sentencing submissions on Monday.

But years later, the crown said White stopped caring for the little girl with Down syndrome.

Willow was isolated, never left home and was rarely helped out of her bed in the months before her death, crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the judge.

Willow was missing from photos posted on social media and when friends asked about the little girl’s whereabouts, White would say she was staying with family.

The last time Willow saw a doctor was in 2018, when she weighed 10 kilograms.

Willow is suspected to have died on May 23, 2020 but the family did not call police until two days later.

Pathologists said Willow suffered from chronic malnutrition, pancreatitis and pressure sores on her lower body.

She weighed 6.5 kilograms – half of the accepted weight for her age.

Crane said pressure sores on her hips could have been caused by a nappy, blanket or clothing, given how malnourished she was.

Willow’s body and fingernails were dirty, she was missing patches of hair, and keratin had begun to calcify over her skin.

She had a lice infestation that was so bad nits had colonised further down her spine – something the creatures do not usually do, Crane said.

He said White had suggested taking Willow to a doctor or hospital two months before her death, but this did not eventuate.

The crown claimed White failed to provide Willow with the necessities of life and did not avoid the dangers of malnutrition or try to remove the girl from the situation.

Defence barrister Paula Morreau read an apology to the court on White’s behalf that said she accepted her failure to take care of Willow.

“(White) wishes me to express there was no real ill will or desire to cause serious harm to Willow,” she said.

Morreau asked Justice Davis to consider during sentencing White’s history of suffering mental health issues and abuse.

She said it was not a full explanation for the “gross level of neglect” but the ameliorating personal factors impaired White’s capacity to act on Willow’s condition.

White has also pleaded guilty to cruelty to a child under 16 concerning a second child.

Justice Davis will hand down White’s sentence at Brisbane Supreme Court later this week.